Openness and Inerrancy: Can They Be Compatible?

JETS 45/4 (December 2002) 629–49 OPENNESS AND INERRANCY: CAN THEY BE COMPATIBLE? jason a. nicholls* i. introduction To some observers, the resolution concerning divine foreknowledge passed at the 2001 ETS Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs might seem rather harmless. “We believe the Bible clearly teaches that God has com- plete, accurate, and infallible knowledge of all events past, present, and future, including all future decisions and actions of free moral agents.”1 It undoubtedly reflects the society’s majority viewpoint. Yet this vote comes on the heels of several years of discussion and debate, albeit rather limited until recently, on the question of whether the position known as the openness of God is compatible with evangelical theology.2 In fact, some are in- terpreting the results of this vote as the first step down the road toward outright dismissing advocates of the open view from the ETS. Scholars such as Wayne Grudem have admitted as much by characterizing the vote as a “gentle nudge” for open theists to exit the society.3 But exactly why would critics of the openness view want to see this theological position expelled from the society, and why have its proponents come under such intense fire? * Jason A. Nicholls is lecturer in theology at Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201. 1 See David Neff’s editorial, “Scholars Vote: God Knows Future,” Christianity Today 46/1 (Jan- uary 7, 2002) 21. As Neff reports, this resolution was passed at the 2001 Annual Meeting in Col- orado Springs by a vote of 253 to 66, with 41 members abstaining. 2 Witness the two plenary sessions on the openness theme given by Bruce Ware and John Sanders. A printed form of Ware’s address is now available, “Defining Evangelicalism’s Bound- aries Theologically: Is Open Theism Evangelical?” JETS 45 (2002) 193–212. The openness of God, as it was originally termed (though it is sometimes also called open theism, free will theism, re- lational theism, presentism or simply the openness view), is a theological viewpoint which teaches that God, in limiting the full extent of his power to control all earthly affairs, enters into give- and-take relationships with his creatures. This thereby renders the outcome of the future as something that is determined partly by God and partly by humans. Hence, the openness view conceives of the future as partly closed and partly open—open to the extent that humans exercise true freedom (viz. a kind that is incompatible with determinism, known most commonly as libertarianism) in their decision-making. By far the most distinguishing feature of the openness view is also its most controversial. In short, the indefinite parts of the future are, properly speaking, not yet knowledge; hence, they are not knowable by anyone—including God. Critics of the openness charge that it is a position that necessarily diminishes God. Its supporters, on the other hand, counter that God still knows all that is knowable—and that the existence of a partly definite, partly indefinite future is simply the product of a self-limiting, though ultimately still sovereign God. For a helpful brief summary see Gregory A. Boyd, God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of God (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000) 11–17. 3 Wayne Grudem, a past president of the ETS, is quoted by David Neff in “Scholars Vote” 21. 630 journal of the evangelical theological society Essentially, many are contending that open theism is incompatible with evangelical theology—or, to put it another way in light of the theme of the 2001 meeting—it is alleged to have crossed an evangelical “boundary.” Precisely which boundary has been violated? Negotiating a clear answer to this question is no easy matter, since delimiting such evangelical “boundaries” is a task replete with its own challenges. Indeed, such an endeavor— defining evangelical boundaries—too often disintegrates into a tricky debate as different evangelicals have contrasting opinions on what constitutes even the most basic of evangelical boundaries.4 Yet the critics of open theism have, for the most part, leveled a rather unified and concise attack against it by alleging that openness theology is incompatible with the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.5 Given the ETS’s basic doctrinal statement, this accusation is momentous. All society members must affirm (1) that “[t]he Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore in- errant in the autographs”; and (2) that “God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.” Based partly upon this specific charge, North American evangelicalism is currently witnessing a growing yet sobering trend. What could be described as a climate of hysteria has been cultivated in regard to openness theology, and this has stemmed in large part from the specific charge that open theism is incompatible with biblical inerrancy. Witness the number of influen- tial voices that are on record indicting the open view. Many of its detractors would argue that it is inconsistent with evangelical theology, and a few have even gone so far as to condemn it as a heresy that is destructive to both churches and personal lives.6 My purpose in this article is not to try to counter these more dramatic accusations. But I do want to reply to a specific and increasingly pervasive criticism against the openness position—viz. that its view of God is incompatible with the doctrine of biblical inerrancy. For, again, it is precisely on this basis that a core group of scholars is calling for the expulsion of open theists from the ETS. As I document below, a number of these critics have come to this conclusion thinking that logic somehow de- mands it. In short, if the God of open theism is incapable of guaranteeing the fulfillment of his purposes, the logic goes, then this risks thwarting divine providence. And if God’s providence were to be thwarted, this would in turn necessarily undermine the doctrine of inerrancy. 4 For instance, one need only look to the sheer breadth of paper topics and the diversity of theological positions on those topics at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the ETS, which had for its theme “Defining Evangelicalism’s Boundaries.” 5 I have in mind here the earlier resolution passed by the executive committee of the ETS at its meeting in Nashville, TN, November 15, 2000, which alleged an “incompatibility” between open theism and biblical inerrancy. 6 These kinds of accusations are not hard to come by. One need look no further than to the scholarly endorsements from such notables as Wayne Grudem, John Piper, and Donald Carson in Bruce Ware’s recent book, God’s Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2000). One Line Short openness and inerrancy: can they be compatible? 631 In response, I contend that this allegation is based on a misconception about the openness view. I will demonstrate how open theism, rather than undermining divine providence, can and does affirm providence by uphold- ing the reality of unilateral divine intervention in the midst of libertarian freedom. I describe this interaction as one of governed libertarianism guided by incidents of select determinism. By articulating the relationship between these two concepts, then, I will show how an advocate of the openness view may continue to affirm biblical inerrancy—effectively removing all legitimate grounds for excluding open theists from the ETS on the basis of its current doctrinal statement. Perhaps the biggest risk taken in this article is that I may at times re- iterate points made previously by such open theists as Gregory Boyd, Clark Pinnock, and John Sanders. Where I am aware of this, I have tried to ac- knowledge it. Why add another essay to the growing theological crossfire between critics and proponents? I write because I am convinced that this specific issue—namely, to reconcile the open view with divine providence and, therefore, the doctrine of inerrancy—deserves more explicit treatment. And I am hopeful that the argument made here will fall on ears that are willing to listen—and that I am convinced need to listen. I should also underscore that, while the more prominent open theists might agree with the basic point made here, they also may not. I speak only for myself in this essay.7 This article proceeds in four steps. First, by reviewing the essence of the critiques from several major opponents of the openness view, I demonstrate how their analyses focus primarily upon a perceived inability for the open view’s God to realize his ultimate purposes—hence, seeming to pose a prob- lem with biblical inerrancy. Second, I argue that such criticisms are based on a fundamental misconception—that for God to control the future he must either exhaustively foresee it or decree it—and set forth my case for how the openness God can ensure the fulfillment of his future purposes by recourse to periodic divine intervention. Third, in consequence of this proposal, I ac- knowledge a crucial implication for a libertarian understanding of human freedom. Specifically, I contend that, while libertarian freedom is an essen- tial component of God’s moral system as it is generally conceived by both open theists and Arminians alike, Scripture also records select incidents of divine determinism whereby God guarantees the fulfillment of specific, in- dispensable pieces of his ultimate plan. I still contend, however, that, as a general rule, humans exercise libertarian freedom.

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